Cory Doctorow talks about Facebook as a Skinner Box, about teaching kids privacy, and ideas about feedback loops

BLOT: (04 Apr 2011 - 12:22:40 AM)

Cory Doctorow talks about Facebook as a Skinner Box, about teaching kids privacy, and ideas about feedback loops

Saw this on BoingBoing - "TEDxObserver talk on kids and privacy", but I'll also embed it below. In it, Cory Doctorow talks about some common themes and throws in a new twist or two. Perhaps most interesting is the idea that Facebook and sites like it are Skinner Boxes that intermittently reward oft-repeated behavior. To wit, we constantly update and toss out new posts/updates because we are trying to hit the reward of getting lots to comment. We add plenty because we are looking for the people we want to follow. He then goes on to talk about immediate feedback loops, realizing what you are doing right or wrong right away [though he drops this after a bit]. Finally, he ends with what is going to be the most radical concept: that we can teach our kids [and I would say each other] privacy by allowing each other to have it. Rather than checking their email accounts, rather than forcing filters on them, teach them to make good decisions without the boxes. I personally have pushed this concept in other circles, where businesses are more worried about snooping on employees than teaching employees good habits like secure browsing and encryption, but I imagine that applied to children will make it a bit controversial.

OTHER BLOTS THIS MONTH: April 2011